1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to electric welding, and more particularly to apparatus for managing the cables and guns associated with welding machines, including metal inert gas (MIG) welding machines.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many wire feed MIG welding machines are capable of being easily switchable between welding steel and aluminum workpieces. Separate welding guns are required for the two different materials, as well as separate cables that connect the guns to the welding machine. To avoid frequent movement of the welding machine at a work site, the two cables are quite long, often reaching 30 feet in length.
Although long cable length is beneficial for reaching workpieces at a distance from the welding machine, the attendant disadvantage is that the cables are frequently in the way. That is especially true if the cables are merely left on the workplace floor when not in use. A cable lying on the floor, even if it is neatly coiled, presents a hazard for workers in the area. The fact that two cables are used with many MIG welding machines exacerbates the problem.
Electrically powered MIG welding machines are small enough to be transportable using running gears. Moving a welding machine with long cables is very cumbersome. Unless the machine includes a way to hold the cables in place on it, the cables must either be dragged along the work place floor, or manually carried, when the welding machine is transported. In either situation, the welding machine running gear is apt to run over the cables. It is possible to disconnect the cables from the welding machine when transporting it. However, that procedure does not eliminate the need to drag or carry the cables to the new location. In addition, unproductive time is required for the disconnecting and reconnecting process.
To solve the problems associated with long welding machine cables, it is known to equip welding machines with a static hanger. For example, the Miller Electric Company of Appleton, Wis., manufactures and markets a gun/cable holder that is attachable to a transportable MIG welding machine. The gun/cable holder includes an arcuate surface over which the cable is draped, as well as a short tube that receives the nozzle of the welding gun.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,866,076 shows a transportable electric arc welding machine having two U-shaped plates on the outside. One plate is designed to hold a welding gun. The cable between the welding gun and the welding machine is supported by a bracket on a frame of the machine running gear.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,247,807 discloses an engine-driven welding machine. A welding gun is holdable in a support on the outside of the machine. No provision is made for holding the cable between the gun and the machine.
Thus, a need exists for improvements in managing welding machine cables.
In accordance with the present invention, a pivotable cable and gun holder is provided that manages the guns and connecting cables of a MIG welding machine. This is accomplished by apparatus that includes a door that pivots between open and closed positions in a box that fits in the machine top cover.
The box has a back wall, opposed side walls, and open front and top sides. When the box is in the welding machine top cover, top and front edges of the box side walls, as well as the top edge of the box back wall, are substantially flush with the cover top and side panels. The door has front and top walls. The door front wall is hinged to the box at the lower end of the box open front side. When the door is closed, its front and top walls are substantially coplanar with the front and top edges, respectively, of the box side walls. Thus, the door top and front walls are substantially flush with the machine cover top and side panels. A catch maintains the door in the closed position until it is intentionally opened. When the door is open, its front wall is generally horizontal and perpendicular to the front panel of the machine top cover.
In one embodiment of the invention, the box has a arcuate bearing near the bottom of its open front side. Each side wall of the box has an arcuate surface concentric with the bearing. Each box side wall also has a groove between the box open front side and the associated arcuate surface. There is a floor between the side walls and the back wall above the bearing.
To pivot the door between the open and closed position, the door has a shaft portion that engages the box bearing. The door is held to the box by a resilient overcenter tab in the box. To engage the door shaft portion with the box bearing at assembly, the door shaft portion must first deflect the tab slightly. As the shaft portion fully engages the bearing, the tab resiliently returns to its normal position, where it cooperates with the bearing to hold the door in place.
The door includes a pair of oppositely protruding fingers. At assembly, the fingers slide through the grooves in the box side walls. The fingers emerge from the grooves in the box side walls and are proximate the arcuate surfaces on the box side walls when the door shaft portion is engaged with the box bearing. The door fingers ride on the box arcuate surfaces when the door pivots between the open and closed positions. The door is retained at its open position by contact of the fingers with a depression in each of the box side walls.
The present invention further comprises a pair of tubular sockets. According to one aspect of the invention, the sockets are supported in the box on the box floor. Each socket has two short oppositely extending lugs near a bottom end. One lug is captured in a hole in a box side wall, and the other lug is captured under a hook the box back wall. Preferably, there is an opening in each socket at the bottom end.
When the door is closed, the holder of the invention is an unobtrusive component of the welding machine, which can be used in the normal manner in every respect. When the door is open, however, its front wall functions as a hanger for neatly holding the welding machine cables. In addition, the open door exposes and provides easy access to the sockets supported in the box. The machine guns can be inserted into the sockets to store them in place until needed.
In a modified embodiment, the sockets are supported in the door instead of in the box. To provide increased accessibility to the sockets, they are rotatable in the door between retracted and working locations. When the sockets are in the retracted location, they lie within the envelope of the door front and top walls. When the door is in the closed position, the sockets nest within the box. When the door is in the open position, the sockets can be rotated to their working locations whereat they are outside the door envelope. In that location, they are more convenient for receiving and storing the welding guns.
In another embodiment, pivoting of the door on the box is achieved by the cooperation of a shaft portion in the box and a bearing in the cover. Outturned fingers on the door abut small plates in the box to retain the door in the open position. The sockets for the welding machine guns can be supported either in the box or in the door.
Other advantages, benefits, and features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the detailed description of the invention.